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Philadelphians rally to resurrect ruined hitchBOT

The Canadian-created hitchhiking robot was apparently decapitated and dismembered in the streets of Philadelphia just two weeks into an attempt to hitchhike from the east coast of the U.S. to the west, but a local tech group is offering to repair the beloved robot and get it back out on the road again.

A couple embraces as Dan Winske wheels hitchBOT through the stands before a baseball game at Boston's Fenway Park on July 24. The robot's hitchhiking journey across the United States was cut short this weekend when it was found dismembered in Philadelphia. (Charles Krupa / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

“From what I can tell, we definitely have the technical skills to reassemble the bot, as long as we have the parts that we need,” said Georgia Guthrie, executive director for The Hacktory, a Philadelphia business that, among other things, offers classes for adults and kids on how to use technology creatively.

“It’s not like an impossible feat for us to do, it’s actually pretty manageable, so I thought, ‘Why not?’”

Guthrie first heard about hitchBOT, which successfully made it across Canada, Germany and the Netherlands before embarking on its ill-fated U.S. endeavour, Sunday morning when her boyfriend saw a post on Reddit and told her about it. She then sent out emails to volunteers and organizers, who she said were all excited to help out. Guthrie also emailed and tweeted at hitchBOT’s creators, but said she hasn’t heard back from them.

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Guthrie is also working on tracking down where hitchBOT’s remains are. According to Twitter user Kyle Silva, one of the last people to see the robot intact, someone has brought the pieces back to Rhode Island and is arranging for them to be sent back to the creators later this week.

The Hacktory is trying to decide how to handle the project and plans a public meeting Thursday. Organizers have set up a PayPal account where people can donate to help cover the costs of the repair, and Guthrie said the group is also looking for the donation of a tablet PC, a component of hitchBOT that she suspects was taken when it was vandalized.

Guthrie hopes that, assuming The Hacktory can get hitchBOT’s remains and the creators agree to the repair, putting the robot back together and sending it on its way will help show that Philadelphia’s tech community is “really welcoming, really inclusive, very friendly.”

“I think Philly has a really bad reputation for this, but I think it’s mostly undeserved,” she said. “We think this is a great opportunity for us to put our skills to good use and we’ll do whatever we can ... I think there’s enough people who want to help and do something positive that we’re going to work to have some good thing come out of this.”

The Hacktory isn’t the only bunch of Philadelphians trying to get hitchBOT to San Francisco though — a Kickstarter by user Nick Green had already raised more than $2,000 by Monday evening, well above the $1,200 campaign goal.

A couple embraces as Dan Winske wheels hitchBOT through the stands before a baseball game at Boston's Fenway Park on July 24. The robot's hitchhiking journey across the United States was cut short this weekend when it was found dismembered in Philadelphia. (Charles Krupa / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

“I recently read the story about [hitchBOT] being destroyed in Philadelphia shortly after starting its journey. As a citizen of the greater Philadelphia region it upset me immensely … A few of my tech savvy friends and myself will be working to rebuild the robot,” reads the campaign description, adding that all funds raised will go toward buying new parts. Guthrie said she’s reached out to Green but hasn’t heard back yet.

HitchBOT’s creators, Frauke Zeller of Ryerson University and David Smith of McMaster University, could not be reached for comment Monday but previously told The Canadian Press that many people have reached out with offers to rebuild hitchBOT and that her team will make a decision on whether or not they will bring the robot back to life in the coming days.

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“We don't really know what to do, so we have to sit down with the whole team and really see where we are and what can be done,” Zeller said.

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